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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Tenedos |
|---|---|
| Year | 100 BC - 80 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A large labrys (double-headed axe) dominates the central field, serving as the principal civic emblem of Tenedos. The legend TENEΔIΩN appears above within a border of a laurel wreath that encircles the entire design. The handle of the labrys is flanked by two groups of secondary devices: to the left, a monogram and a bunch of grapes; to the right, a palm branch and a small figure of Athena Promachos shown in advancing pose with raised spear and shield. The composition is carefully balanced within the encircling wreath, reflecting accomplished Hellenistic die-cutting. |
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| Reverse lettering | TENEΔIΩN |
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| Additional information |
Tenedos sat at the mouth of the Hellespont, and the island's wealth derived almost entirely from its position as a mandatory toll stop for grain ships moving between the Black Sea and the Aegean. By the late second century BC, that leverage was eroding — Rhodes and later Rome had restructured Aegean trade routes in ways that bypassed smaller intermediary ports. These tetradrachms were struck in the island's final period of meaningful monetary independence, before Tenedos faded into administrative obscurity under Roman provincial reorganization.
The fabric is notably broad and thin relative to earlier Tenedian issues, reflecting Hellenistic die practices of the period rather than any local anomaly.